CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- As Phil Mickelson's round imploded, the Wachovia Championship flew in a different direction.
Jason Bohn fired a 5-under 67 on Friday to take a two-shot lead at 9-under 135 after the second round, while Mickelson's double bogey on Quail Hollow Club's easiest hole began a horrible closing stretch that left him seven shots back.
Anthony Kim's 67 put him at 7 under and in second place, while 2006 champion Jim Furyk, Dudley Hart and George McNeill were three strokes back after 67s.
Mickelson finished with two double bogeys in his final four holes on the way to a 74.
While he was hitting his ball into the creek on No. 18 for another double bogey, the loose Bohn was joking with reporters.
Bohn, whose sixth-place finish at the Verizon Heritage two weeks ago secured his playing privileges after his injury-filled 2007, followed his 68 Thursday with six birdies and a bogey.
"I'm just excited to play. I don't have a lot of pressure now that my medical status is taken care of," Bohn said. "I can just go out and free swing it."
Mickelson's free swinging got him into trouble, a day after a 68 left him a shot behind first-round leader David Toms.
Mickelson strolled to the easy par-5 15th 6 under, two behind the leaders. It's the last good chance to gain ground before the difficult closing holes.
But Mickelson pulled his tee shot into the left rough. His second shot went nearly straight left, just cleared the water and nestled in a horrible lie of pine straw at the base of a tree. Mickelson hacked at it and it dribbled 30 feet. His fourth shot landed in front of the greenside bunker. A chip shot and two putts later, Mickelson had a 7 and had fallen five shots behind.
"There was a low round out there and I let it slide," he said.
Toms slogged through a 75 that left him tied with Mickelson.
LPGA TOUR, at Broken Arrow, Okla. -- Paula Creamer and Lorena Ochoa played together for the first 36 holes at the SemGroup Championship, battling a vicious wind.
Creamer made enough birdies that another sloppy finish Friday -- two bogeys on the final three holes -- still left her satisfied. She shot an even-par 71 and was the only player remaining under par at Cedar Ridge at 1-under 141, giving her a one-shot lead over Ji Young Oh.
But Ochoa, going for her record-tying fifth consecutive LPGA Tour win, was six shots behind after a 3-over 74.
CHAMPIONS TOUR, at Lakeway, Texas -- Nick Price shot a season-best 7-under 65 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead over fellow major champion Mark O'Meara after the first round of the FedEx Kinko's Classic.
Defending champion Scott Hoch was two back at 67.
Price made 15 Champions Tour starts last year after turning 50, his best result a third-place in the Senior PGA Championship. This year, he has five top- 10 finishes in seven events.
Price made four consecutive birdies on Nos. 13-16, keyed by a 25-foot putt on No. 13.
Craig Stadler shot a 31 on the front. But when he came to the dangerous par-3 16th hole with a two-shot lead, he found the water twice and the bunker once and left with an 8. He had a 71.
NATIONWIDE TOUR, at Valdosta, Ga. -- It took 145 to make the cut at the South Georgia Classic, which left Modesto's Matt Bettencourt (74 -- 147) and Atwater's Matt Hansen (75 -- 149) out. Bryan DeCorso (69 -- 137) leads Marco Dawson by two.
Comments